Fear the Nobodies: Twenty-One
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>Be Mike Sapone
>Again
>You’re standing a good twenty feet away away from Lydia Penferth
>She just offered you something: a blank check
>Well?
>What’s the call, chief?
>The world’s about to change – and not in your favor, either
>The lion’s eyes soften, like bowls of ice cream melting
>“I know this is hard for you, Mike. What I’m asking isn’t an easy thing, but nothing worth doing is easy to begin with.”
>You grunt in dim acknowledgment
>“What would your weirdo friends think?”
“What about my former associates?”
>Something pulls at the corner of her lips, like Satan tugging on the strings that he uses to marionette this lion across the stage
>“Well, as far as I know, your good buddy Anon already swore an oath to us this morning. He’s on the winning side, now. I’d say you have until Friday to decide, but…”
“He ain’t my friend, bitch,” you say, cutting in, denying all at once an adolescence spent in ease and joy and company, for the sake of spitting on the fire you’ve built together
“I don’t care what he thinks. At least, not anymore. Fuck him, and fuck everyone else too. Fuck this whole town,” you say with finality
>“That’s it,” the lioness grins, under a heavy concrete sky, “that’s what I like to hear from you. That raw honesty. You’re not afraid to tell it how it is.”
“Fuck you too.”
>Lydia raises her head, heavy chains glinting in the weak light, “that’s the Halloween spirit.”
“Halloween? You think I give a goddamn about that made up holiday right now? HELL no. All I wanted to do was smash some pumpkins and drink some beer, but now I have to be this… thing-”
>Lydia cuts in
>“You can do all of that. We’ll even help you! And after Hallow’s Eve comes to pass, there will be more drinking and debauchery than you could ever dream of!”
>That does sound…
>…tempting
>…
>What?
>You’re eighteen – eternal hedonism sounds like fun!
>You recall a discussion in Anon’s car last Friday where you proudly (and drunkenly) announced your intent to ‘berry ur dick in some fine wimmin’ or something to that extent
>And to be completely transparent, you haven’t thought of what you’re gonna do after you get to college
>You’re an undeclared freshman
>…
>What’s this all for?
>IF you joined… you’d know everything that they probably want to know
>Lydia’s offer just makes sense
>It wouldn’t take much to rise above Lydia in rank
>You’d know Anon has the Book of Rite with him, that he’s planning on stopping the goths
>You were too trying to do that at one point as well
>That is before before Anonymous let you down and shattered your dreams (so you shattered his jaw)
>Before you turned into this… this fucking… thing
>This shadow of who you once were…
>…This edgy faggot who hates everyone and everything like some kind of bad Sonic OC
>What happened to ‘doing something that mattered’ that Sam always talked about?
>NONE OF THIS SHIT MATTERS ANYMORE!
>A dark wind blows
>You feel it roll across your paled skin like a tempest of small knives
>Everything is much sharper now that you’re a vampire
>You perceive the minutia – like blood pumping in someone’s veins, the heart beating in the stray cats behind the coffee shot
>The gentlest breeze lights up a million different nerves on your body like a goddamn Christmas tree
>Your vision is impeccable – you can see that slight smile playing on Lydia’s pierced upper lip
>You’re the ultimate bad ass, rivaled only by Lydia
>A perfect predator
>She knows and you know it
>A killing machine, if you so wanted it
>But you don’t want it – not yet
>Right now you want only one thing
>And that’s to break every finger of the hand that dealt this to you
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PvyBKSmQ_g&list=PL9aXlzDRA49QKxgYsOV2JuDd410_nI-0J&index=12
“You know, I haven’t exactly enjoyed being a vampire. It’s actually kind of ruined my life,” you say, calm. “Not sure how you all have done it for so long. Can’t go to college, can’t leave this town, can’t go anywhere that’s not within five miles of a blood bank…”
>“Well, it’s only been a few days,” Lydia says with a fabricated air of humility. “I have no idea how far I can push my new powers. But come this Friday, I’ll find out.”
“Bet it’s impressive.”
>You kick at the sidewalk, uninterested
>“You know, we could… learn… together. Push one another day in and day out, becoming the strongest that we could possibly be. I know you’ve always had a lot of strength — you nearly broke my jaw on Monday. Together we can become even stronger,” Lydia offers
>You frown
“Stronger than Vanessa?”
>Lydia smirks as her purple hair blows evenly across her face
>“If we become strong enough, we might not even need Vanessa. Me and you, Mike. Think about it. Nobody above us. Not even God.”
“Actually, I have thought about it,” you reply, forcing calm and even syllables into your words, cheek muscles fighting back against a force so indescribably powerful that it could make nuclear weapons look like firecrackers:
>Your cock-sure smile, in this perfect moment
>“And?”
>You lock eyes with the lion, their unnatural feverish tempering with heat
>They await your answer with decisive hunger
“I’m not in to furry bitches,” you say
>And you can no longer refuse the smile spreading across your lips
>A cold gust blows a vacant plastic bag between the two of you
>No car dare drive between you and Lydia
>After a moment of silence, Lydia shudders, sighing heavily
>“Guess you’re not gonna come quietly over to our side, huh?”
>You spit again on the cold cement
“Guess not.”
>“I see.”
>Lydia straightens her spine, her massive form spreading into an unnatural length
>Muscles ripple underneath her black shirt
>A hungry growl crawls up from her throat and sends shivers through your whole body
>Her eyes blaze
>“I’m sorry it has to end like this, Mike. I gave you the chance to join us willingly,” she says in a worn growl
“You did, I admit,” you say as you stiffen your own spine and tense up your body, “It was a generous offer. But tell ya the truth: I don’t think I’d fit in with you all anyway. Too much whining-”
>Lydia screeches at you, a concussive blast of noise that pops your eardrum
>So you roar back
>“-and I’ve been itching to re-locate your jaw since Monday!”
>For a moment, nobody moves
>You know you really can’t take a juiced up lion-vampire-succubus-thing and her five minions, right?
>But you sure as hell can try
>Nah, that’d be dumb. You’d get mauled and SUCCed to death
>Now might not be the best time for bravery
>You crack your neck
>The air is heavy, humidity weighed down by the promise of rain
>It bites into your pale flesh
>“Scared?” The Lion says with a devil-smirk, her mouth made nearly indescribable by piercings
>You shake your head
“Not scared. Cold.”
>But you are scared
>You’re actually terrified right now
>You need a way out
>Like
>Now
>You’re reminded briefly of Anon on the ground in the parking lot, reaching for a weapon to clock the werewolf with, instead of bumrushing him with his fists…
>…Which you’re about to do (the bumrushing part that is)
>Thankfully your better judgment catches you as your leg muscles tense up, ready to explode forward like a compressed mine
>What would Anonymous do?
>Anon would probably run right now…
>You shrug your shoulders in what might be the lamest standoff exit ever
>Spinning on your heels, you tear off down the sidewalk, past all the little shops and houses
>Towards where? Where are you going to go?
>You’re going to the only place you have left:
>The Shop N’ Save
Oliver Hart
Author of Foxing, Leaves of Fall, Liquid Courage, Beating the Heat, A Red Winter, Weber’s Gambit, and many other stories. He primarily writes hmofa, but dabbles in most genres. Interests include, writing, reading, technology, and music.
Stories: Foxing, The Leaves of Fall